The Petaluma City Council decision to spend about $10,000 trying to prevent an asphalt plant from opening on its outskirts commits it to a legal battle that may cost many times that, although it won’t bear the cost alone.

Petaluma’s City Council voted 6-1 on Monday night to continue its legal fight against the Dutra Materials asphalt plant after two local groups pledged $10,000 to help fund the battle. The money should cover about half the city’s costs to appeal a ruling by Superior Court Judge Rene Chouteau, who dismissed a lawsuit challenging the asphalt plant. Did the City Council make the right decision to appeal the ruling?

The Petaluma City Council decided Monday night to evaluate whether to appeal a judge’s dismissal of a lawsuit trying to halt the Dutra Materials asphalt plant. In a closed-session discussion, the council agreed to analyze whether there are legal grounds for an appeal and how much it would cost to continue the fight.

A Sonoma County judge has dismissed the lawsuit challenging approval of the Dutra Materials asphalt plant, the controversial land use project slated for 38 acres south of Petaluma. Judge Rene Chouteau dismissed all claims brought against the county, Dutra and its business partners by the City of Petaluma, a group of five nonprofit groups and several individuals.

Lawyers argued Friday before a packed courtroom about a controversial asphalt plant proposed for the Petaluma River that was approved by the Sonoma County Board of Supervisors despite community opposition over potential environmental effects.

Opponents and supporters of the proposed Dutra Materials asphalt plant south of Petaluma are set to have their date in court Friday. A lawsuit challenging approval of the project, one of the most controversial land-use issues in Sonoma County, will be the focus of a civil court hearing. What should the judge do?

Sonoma County Judge Rene Chouteau has rejected an effort by Shamrock Materials to be dropped from a lawsuit challenging the county’s approval of the Dutra Materials asphalt plant near the Petaluma River. A late change in the Dutra project required use of Shamrock’s property along the Petaluma River to deliver aggregate to the adjacent Dutra site.

Shamrock Materials, the Petaluma concrete supplier, has filed a legal request for release from a lawsuit targeting Sonoma County’s approval of the controversial Dutra Materials asphalt plant south of Petaluma. The company was included in the legal challenge because a late change in the Dutra project required use of Shamrock’s property along the Petaluma River to deliver aggregate to the adjacent Dutra site.

Opponents of the Dutra Materials asphalt plant have added a claim to their lawsuit against the recently approved Petaluma project. The lawsuit now alleges the Board of Supervisors violated the state’s open meeting law when it refused to allow public comment during their final vote on the plant last year.

Sonoma County supervisors have denied a request by opponents of the Dutra Materials asphalt plant to reconsider the supervisors’ decision to not allow public comment during the final vote on the Petaluma project last year. Opponents said the move violated the Brown Act, the state’s open meeting law.